Haarp Media Guest Picks #12: Stryka D from Heartical Hi-Fi

Derek M aka Stryka D is the mind behind the Heartical Hi-Fi sound system and is passionate about militant sound system culture. The Heartical Hi-Fi system and Stryka D currently reside at the Night Owl, for the Wobble and Dub Club monthly events.

This list is a personal and in-depth look at his favourite records, which show his formative development through left-wing movements of punk, reggae, dub, and some other surprises.

Words from Stryka D…

There is no need to mention that reggae and its sub-genre dub are ultimately my favorite types of music ,but having been asked to list ten of my favorite tunes, I decided to draw from a wider horizon.

After all, music has been a big part of my life from an early age and many genres have influenced me in some way or another, so the list is a little personally indulgent. There are enough tunes that deserve a mention but are not listed, it’s very hard to pick just ten tunes from a world of music but anyway here you go. If you’ve never heard them before, Youtube and enjoy!

1. Baby I Love You So – King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown. Genre: Dub This was probably the tune that switched me on to dub music. I heard this before I knew the original Jacob Miller vocal cut. There is just something special about the King Tubby mix, it sits just right, a real ear opener.

2. Pink Floyd – Time. Genre: Prog As depressing this tune is, it has to go in the bag. I was only eight or nine when I came across a cassette tape of the Dark Side Of The Moon album, which belonged to my older sister. I popped it into the tape player, the sound and melodies reached deep into my psyche and still remain.

3. Ace Of Spades – Motorhead. Genre: Metal After seeing Motorhead performing this on Tiswas- a children’s TV show, I was given one pound pocket money off me Ma, rushed to the record shop and bought my first 7’’ single, at the tender age of 10. I still have the original slate.

4. Peaches – The Stranglers. Genre: Punk This classic is probably not the most PC of tunes but never fails to get a smile. If you’re male and got red blood, you’ll get me.

5. Loose – The Stooges. Genre: Garage The ultimate tune to get you out of the armchair.

6. Acperience 1rd Floor – Hardfloor.Genre: Acid Techno Having grown up during the post punk era of underground music and witnessing the birth of electronic music. The 90’s breathed an air of optimism almost like a dawning of the new age. The new ‘dance music’ seemed to unite all the tribes. This gem heavily laden with 303 madness, from 92 is one that comes to mind every time.

7. Original Nuttah – Shy FX (feat. UK Apache). Genre: Jungle My introduction to Jungle was through a DJ friend called Mick Singh who happened to be Indian (no joke). Jungle was like nothing you had never heard before at the time and seemed to consist of ingredients from raga dancehall to dub to hip hop and club music, put through a blender and served up on a sound system. How could this be? Who cares it sounded mad and we loved it. This is an evergreen Jungle classic from 94.

8. Guns Of Brixton – The Clash. Genre: Punk It’s back to basics with this one. While waiving the punk rock banner and beginning to explore reggae, to us this was a punk meets dread anthem, not sure the dreads met us on the same level though…

9. The Meek – Bad Brains. Genre: Punk meets Reggae The dreads did meet punk with this one for real coming from the classic album Rock For Light. The Punk scene I grew up with was much a very ‘white’ thing. This tune certainly had a few chins being scratched. For me it was yet another path leading into the world of reggae music.

10. Bubbling Fountain – Dennis Brown.Genre: Reggae Last but not least and also, as I should probably be listing a classic reggae tune of some kind. To pick just one from a dearly loved genre with a 50 year history is a grueling task so to keep it basic and up to time I’ll choose this one. This tune, from 1980 was featured on the Zion High LP but only until just now has been released on a nice 12’’ vinyl slate. Needless to say this will be getting rinsed in fine style on Heartical HiFi in the upcoming Basement Sessions.